Enough to Receive

We would have often heard people it is God's grace. But how many of us live with the realization of the word "Grace". Grace has an in depth meaning and to live by grace is something that ought to be experienced to realize. I would like to share a short story in my effort to explain grace. There was once a little girl who was fragile and weak because in her body she suffered from multiple syndrome. She was in a condition where she could eat neither more or less to keep her body healthy. If she ate more she would throw up constantly to the extent she would become weak and tired; and eating less would make her weak and  unhealthy. So actually needed to eat in between which was difficult to estimate. Doctors wondered how she survived with multiple health conditions.

Moreover this child lived as an in patient in a hospital without much future and hope as she was abandoned at birth by her mother. Though this little girl lived within the walls of the hospital she had quite a positive outlook in life. She did not want to be a burden to the people in the hospital who took care of her and hence did her best to do petty work for other inmates in the hospital. All that she did was to visit each patient in her floor or sometimes other floors and inquired about their health. She just spent few minutes in displaying love, care and concern and did some petty work to help them like fetching a glass of water, or reading a passage from a Bible or say word of prayer, get them a flower from the garden, etc which made them feel good.

Many patients felt better and changed their perspective by seeing the way the child lived after having learnt about her health condition and her life. What the patients saw was the grace that she received from God to survive. They saw grace at work in her and realized that God gave her just the enough grace to live. The child neither cribbed about her condition nor questioned her past or future. She only knew that God saw it best to have her this way and His grace was enough. Though many would have questioned the reason for her survival within their heart, the patients who met with her and came to know her well, changed their way of thinking. They realized that God had all the grace to give, it was only in our hands to become humble enough to ask and receive it. The child was an exemplar of  grace changing the lives of patients she acquainted with.

John 1:16 (NIV)
Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.

I want to Know Him

Many children of God are preoccupied with the thought of doing ministry as the primary focus of life. Besides, doing worship and praise and attending regular church service and prayer meetings, Christ followers are primarily doers. Each believer in Christ may hold on to their own perceptions and may regard that as right. I am not here to judge who is right or who is wrong. But I personally am more convinced that being Christ-like is more of a priority than active service.

However, I was keen to look into the life of Apostle Paul who was the best minister for Christ and surprisingly Apostle Paul says, "I want to know Christ..."(Philippians 3:10- NIV) which was more of a chief priority for him. Reading this portion of the scripture I was convinced that knowing Jesus is the top priority of life and the more I know Him, the more I will be able to learn to change my attitudes, perceptions and way of thinking accordingly. Besides, only by knowing the Lord closely and personally will I be able to see my life through Him...Amen.

My Redeemer Lives

Whenever I sit to read a devotion or my Bible, I refrain from reading anything about suffering or trial. Without my knowledge I always didn't want to hear about predictions of trial or reasons behind why God allows trials. I am sure many of us do not want to listen to such stuff. When we take time to read God's Word inwardly we have an anticipation for words of hope, comfort, blessing and good tiding. I believe this is natural for us to feel that way. In fact that is exactly what we may expect our lives to be filled with - no pain, suffering or trials. Nobody likes to have trials or face problems. And worst of all nobody would like to hear or know such predictions for the future.

However, when I faced trials recently followed by a series of worries, unexpected turning of events and fears, I turned to reading my devotion again and prayed inwardly that I didn't want to read another reason for  trial and anything to do with suffering or disappointments. To my surprise I was ministered by God's word in a way which helped me to know Jesus and His love for me...

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast
    and have no compassion on the child she has borne?
Though she may forget,
    I will not forget you!" (Isaiah 49:15)

This scripture dawned something deep within me. Whatever be the phase of life- times of worry, problems, unmet needs, unexpected situations, etc...as a mother, I am there with my daughter to take care of her completely. Her concerns are my concerns. Her wants I make sure to meet it and her fears I ensure to deal with it. I help her to learn life skills and deal with everyday issues of life. I take all efforts to tune with her and meet her genuine needs and be there to take care of her. I am sure not to forget my daughter even for a moment. My daughter invades my thoughts throughout the day.

When I as a mother can be there so much for my daughter...How much more God who shed His precious blood to make me His child...though I may be unworthy of His sacrifice. I am sure my love for my daughter cannot surpass the love the Lord has for me or for each one of us...

I badly failed to know Him or His love for me. When He can take care of us as the apple of His eye...what a mistake it would be to think that we are not in His thoughts or that He is disconnected with what we are going through mentally. I came to realize desperately ..."My Redeemer Lives".

His Love...

This morning as I sat to read the devotion, the scripture that was for today was from Jeremiah 31:3 - "Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love". As I read this scripture, it really didn't stir my feelings. However, I went ahead to read the devotion. At the end of it as I closed my eyes to focus my attention on the Lord, I felt the very presence of the Lord, the embrace of my heavenly Father. I suddenly was overwhelmed.

The very longing to be loved and feel belonged is a longing that exists in every soul. I have a loving husband and  a daughter who love me a lot. My parents, sister and my all other members of my family love me dearly. I have no lack of being loved. Yet to be loved by the very God who created us is awesome.

We are designed in such a way that nothing could really fulfill our souls except by the love of Jesus. I realized that this morning when I felt the loving embrace of my heavenly Father. The Lord loves each one of us with an everlasting love and to feel that love and embrace is like that of a little child in the arms of her mother- secure, belonged, loved and accepted. Wow! This is the love of Christ...And I know that nobody in this world can give this love. We cannot buy this love, we only need to run to Him to receive it.

Your Choice?

We all know that gossip and swearing is bad. We don't need to be taught about it. These days there are news that state that bad habits such as these is good for you. We would have come across books like 7 Spiritual Laws for Success, or even 10 good ways to communicate to your children. Those are good books that help us better our lives, relationships and well being. However, if you were to be told that being bad is good because it releases feel good hormones that can reduce stress or anxiety, what would be your response? Would you take it just because these are research based studies which prove that these feel good hormones help in reducing stress or anxiety?

If you tell someone to cast their anxiety on the Lord because He cares for those who trust Him, people may find it difficult to accept and do the same, though it is something easy to do. But if you ask someone to be a little bad by being a gossiper or casual swearer it will be easy for them to follow. Because the general tendency of the carnal nature is to yield to temptation and sin and not to stand for doing the right. Because to do right and be right it requires some amount of bleeding (I mean in terms of crucifying the self and pleasing God) which is difficult. Hence many people choose the ways of the world rather than the ways of God...

Which way is yours?

Colossians 2:20 (Amplified Bible)

If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world's crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world?[Why do you submit to rules and regulations?--such as]

His Presence...

Whenever we are frustrated, disappointed and discouraged, the first thing we do is to run away from God. Because deep down inside us we feel that God could have saved us from this negative situations of hopelessness and despair if only He had intervened. However, we find that running away from His presence does no good to us. It only intensifies our hurts and disappointments.

For in His presence we find hope for tomorrow and strength for today. May we continue to be in His presence knowing that He is our heavenly Father who knows how to take care of His children's need.

1 Chronicles 16:27 (Amplified Version)
Honor and majesty are [found] in His presence; strength and joy are [found] in His sanctuary.

His Assurance...

Sometimes we are exhausted waiting to see a breakthrough in our lives and it gets us to wonder if God is really working anything for us? If all we worship a God so powerful and great, how difficult is it for Him to send us a provision or meet a particular need? We get so disappointed not understanding His ways for us.

Rev. Selwyn Hughes often states that God's delays are not His denials. There may be lot of obstacles on the way. There may be missed opportunities. But God purposed them all. We are not all that wise to understand His ways. Yet to know deep down inside our hearts that He is working on our need and His delays are to steering us towards that provision or need which He has got for us  is the calm assurance we can have as of now. 

Isaiah 30:15 (TNIV)

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

   “In repentance and rest is your salvation, 

   in quietness and trust is your strength",

May we take that calm assurance from His word...